A phrase that will likely need to expand in order for former President Donald Trump to prevail in his claim of presidential immunity from prosecution is the “outer perimeter” as it relates to presidential duties. Trump’s lawyers claim that nearly all of Trump’s actions and conduct — especially concerning the insurrection on January 6, 2021 — fell within the “outer perimeter” of his Presidential duties.
Many people aligning against the idea that a president is “above the law” reject the notion that virtually any conduct by a president is protected from prosecution simply by virtue of the position he holds.
In rejecting Trump’s claim of immunity in a recent civil (not criminal) case against him regarding January 6, the federal appeals court in DC cited the Supreme Court’s contention that “absolute presidential immunity… is an ‘official immunity,’ that extends no further than the outer perimeter of a President’s official responsibility.”
The Court found that a President “often” but not “always” acts officially when speaking “on matters of public concern.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a lawyer, has asserted that Trump’s total immunity request amounts to a “ridiculous claim that the president can commit any crime that he or she wants while in office and can’t be prosecuted, whether it’s murder or rape or conspiracy to overthrow the government.”
Though the Supreme Court rejected Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s request to fast-track a decision on Trump’s immunity claim, SCOTUS will likely make the ultimate decision after the federal appeals court weighs in on Trump’s “absolute immunity.”
That SCOTUS decision, if it favors Trump’s claim, could unleash — by granting a president “absolute immunity” for any conduct, placing him “above the law” — an all-powerful President Joe Biden with a full year left in his term, critics warn. Nearly anything Biden wanted to do might then ostensibly fall within the outer perimeter of his duties as president.
As rabble-rousing political critic Keith Olbermann says, “If the Supreme Court rules Trump IS immune – or can’t be disqualified – or both, it means Biden becomes omnipotent.”
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— Keith Olbermann⌚️ (@KeithOlbermann) January 2, 2024
If the Supreme Court rules Trump IS immune – or can't be disqualified – or both, it means Biden becomes omnipotent
And how the MAGA bubble was pierced by…Green Day?
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